Ingenious Swedes Have Paramedics, Heart Attack Victims Pumped with LUCAS 2 [electrically-powered chest compression assistance device]

I have to give the Swedes credit. I thought they were pretty much tapped out after they invented the three-point safety belt and the zipper, but this unique and actually useful product is changing the way the world compresses chests. It is also giving one-armed paramedics and EMTs a new lease on their careers. Bring in the electric chest compression device, please.

When it comes to mechanical chest compression devices, there are none better than those produced by Swedish company jolife. Come to think of it, I’m not sure there are any others. Hitting the market like a heart attack in 2003, their new technology dubbed LUCAS was a pneumatically controlled chest compression machine that was meant to free up the hands of the first-responders so that they could tend to more pressing issues.

Not content to leave well enough alone, the savvy Swedes introduced the LUCAS 2. This new version is an electric version of the LUCAS. According to the company’s website, the LUCAS 2 “…offers operational improvements requested by our customers, i.e. ventilation alerts (30:2 or 8 per minute), a softer start at the initial adjustment to the patient’s chest, and has a quieter operation. The user interface remains very simple with direct access to all operating modes.” I, for one, am all for softer starts when it comes to my chest compressions.

Not only do they look great, all LUCAS devices are based on the same concept; delivering effective and continuous chest compressions according to the AHA and ERC guidelines; 4-5 cm (1.5-2.0 inches) depth, 100 per minute, a 50/50 duty cycle for compression/decompression with a complete recoil of the chest to allow for cardiac refill between each compression. If your heart suddenly decides to take a smoke break this is just what the doctor ordered.

The LUCAS 2 touts a battery life of about 45 minutes. That should just about cover it since your brain is Jell-O after about 5 minutes without oxygen anyway. If you happen to have your cardiac arrest within convenient reach of a wall outlet, the LUCAS 2 can also be plugged in. Since this is a commercial product, you might have to be a medical employee to actually buy one. In other words, I don’t have pricing info. It is currently being sold in Europe and Canada with US availability expected in the fall of 2009. For more details and some really stylish product images head over to www.jolife.com. Clear!